British PM May set to reshuffle Cabinet

london: British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to reshuffle her Cabinet, with several senior ministers expected to be axed, according to media reports.

The Cabinet changes come in the wake of the departure of her confidante Damian Green as first secretary of state after he admitted to lying about the alleged discovery of pornographic images on his Commons computer during a police raid.

Green’s resignation last month is expected to trigger a wider ministerial re-jig over two days which will also see some middle-ranking and junior ministers leaving their posts, the British news agency PA reported, citing Downing Street sources.

But senior Cabinet members including Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Brexit Secretary David Davis are expected to stay on.

Education Secretary Justine Greening’s position seems vulnerable, the Independent newspaper reported.

May is keen to clear out the “pale, male and stale” from her ranks, the Daily Mail reported.

She is expected to promote women and MPs from non-traditional backgrounds in a bid to build a government “more in the image of the country”, according to the Daily Mail report.

Two other ministers have also resigned in recent months.

In early November, Defence Minister Michael Fallon resigned from parliament after an accusation of misconduct was made against him by a journalist.

A week later, International Development Secretary Priti Patel stepped down after it emerged that she had held undisclosed meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-level officials while on holiday in Israel in August. — dpa